Chase Wants Me To Pay My Taxes With My Credit Card

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of receiving an email from my very favorite credit card company, Chase. In it, they expounded the virtues of paying my taxes via my Chase credit card. How convenient! Their reasons include:

Earn rewards for every tax dollar paid (wow, 1% cash back!)

Spread your tax payment over time and control your cash flow (And at only 13% interest!!!)

Suck On It, Chase

Let me see if I’ve got this straight…Chase wants me to pay my taxes with my card, paying a “low” 2.49% fee for the “privilege” of paying my taxes via credit? Is there any other circumstance where you’d even consider paying 2.49% extra just for the privilege of using a card? Of course not. You’d cut up the card and switch to cash-only. Why, then, would you voluntarily take a 2.49% tax hike to avoid filling out a check? I can’t think of a reason. Even worse, they have the nerve to tout that you will earn 1% in rewards in the same paragraph where they disclose the 2.49% fee. Do people fall for this crap? They must.

How To Triple Your Taxes In One Easy Step!

Ah, but that’s not all! For only 13%, you’ll have the privilege of paying this year’s taxes well into 2013! Who could possibly turn down an opportunity to relive tax day every month for the next 4 years? By “manage your cash flow” I think what they really mean is “let your cash flow become our cash flow.”

Seriously, this is a new low in corporate irresponsibility. During the middle of a credit crisis is not the time to be encouraging more reckless consumer behavior. If you made enough money to owe taxes but didn’t save enough of it to actually pay them, you are in way over your head. Taking on more debt is the last thing you should be doing and shame on Chase for trying to make a quick buck at your expense. I dug up the above photo and I think applies equally well in this situation. Do you like it?

Did you hear about what Citi is going? They just sent me an e-mail today and a letter yesterday:

Now paying your bill pays back.

Congratulations, you’ve been automatically enrolled in the Citi Payment Partner Program. Just pay at least $150 above the minimum amount due on any of your next 4 monthly billing statements and you’ll earn a statement credit equal to 10% of the amount you paid over the minimum amount due. You can earn up to $250 in the program.

Earn up to $250 in statement credit to help reduce your balance.
Save money as you reduce finance charges.
Help build good credit by reducing your balance and continuing timely payments.

Here’s how it works:

Earnings will be credited to your account in one lump sum within 3 billing statements after successful completion of the program.
Timely payment of at least the minimum amount due is required in all billing statements before earnings are credited to your account.

It seems ligit..and like a GREAT way to promote paying off the cc’s…im surprised they are doing this! I was hoping chase would follow (as i have higher interest rates with them than Citi)…but it doesn’t look like it with this Tax promo (what a joke!)

I hate Chase already… for a lot of reasons.. but this is really out there. How can they push the virtues of the 1% while glossing over a 2.49% fee? Even ignoring the interest charges…. a 3rd grader who’s never touched a credit card in his life could see that’s a bad deal.

That being said, I wonder how many financially clueless people fall for crap like this

Unfortunately, it isn’t just the “financially clueless” people that fall for this, it is usually the “financially broke” people that use the ‘service’. When you have no money, spreading the tax bill over 3-4 years sounds a lot better than not paying the bill at all.

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